LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Alec MacNaughton CHRISTIE
Service No: 404579
Born: Ingham QLD, 5 November 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 11 October 1940
Unit: No. 455 Squadron, RAF Station Swinderby
Died: Air Operations: (No. 455 Squadron Hampden aircraft P5238), Buckinghamshire, 3 January 1942, Aged 26 Years
Buried: Halton (St Michael) Churchyard, Buckinghamshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William MacNaughton Christie and Etheline Mary Christie, of Ingham, Queensland, Australia; husband of Mabel Delma Christie, of Ingham, Queensland
Roll of Honour: Ingham QLD
Remembered: Panel 106, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Hampden P5328 took off from RAF Swinderby at 1716 hours on the night of 2 January 1942 to bomb La Rochelle, France. The aircraft completed the mission and on return to base it crashed at 0100 hours on 3 January at Folly Farm, Haddenharm, 6 miles south west of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, bursting into flames on impact. All the crew members were killed. The other three aircraft from the Squadron that took part in the mission returned safely.
The crew members of P5328 were:
Flying Officer Alec MacNaughton Christie (404579) (Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Charles Ludwig (100090) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Sergeant Joseph Ross Stansfield (1005937) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer John Lennox Siesel Willox (400110) (Navigator)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A163/25/101
Bibliography:
Gordon, I. (Ian) Strike and Strike Again: 455 Squadron 1944-5, Banner Books Belconnen ACT 2616, 1995
Lawson, John Horwood Wightman (251634) The Story of No. 455 Squadron (RAAF), Wilke and Company, Melbourne VIC, 1951